“It’s good you recognize this, Val,” she murmured as she rolled to curl around his back and kissed his hand resting on his thigh. “The love of an amazing man—amazing men—is what makes me that way.” He caressed her temple with the backs of his fingers and she grinned up at him and shrugged. “It helps that I’m a bit of a badass as well.”
He snorted with laughter and nodded as he finally got up. “I’m not arguing with that.”
“Not going to look a gift pussy in the—”
“Mouth? No.” His laughter echoed throughout the house as he went into the bathroom to start the shower.
Clearly the muscle relaxers are still in my system.
* * * *
Trevor Dornan watched from his vantage point, pissed as hell that he’d gotten his sneakers wet. He frowned back at the creek that gurgled behind him. “Creek my ass. That’s a damned river tributary that needs…damming, damn it.” He barked at his own humor and went back to peeking at the house Val Teller and Ransome Cross had been staying at.
He grinned, knowing he had the right one when the blonde bitch Teller and Cross had hugged and kissed came out with the younger bitch, who was carrying a big white teddy bear dressed in a blue sweater. “Baby boy, huh? Wonder who that’s for.”
By his calculations, the bitch had to be close to popping. He was a betting man and this looked like a good bet. He’d at least do a little reconnaissance work and see what came up since this was his best link to his kid. If nothing else, he could always take those two bitches and demand his in return—no harm no foul. He’d just scare them real good first.
He thought again about maybe secreting that young bitch in another house but thought the stress and hassle might not be worth it, going back and forth sowing in her and waiting for the other to pop. Then he remembered that his equipment was no longer up to snuff and the anger burst inside him, followed by determination. A man needed his virility in order to feel like a real man and they’d all stolen that from him.
He returned to his vehicle, getting his shoes and pant legs wet a second time. He waited until they’d passed his little hiding spot and then pulled out and followed them at a safe distance, to the hospital as it turned out.
“Hmm, this is looking promising. I should’ve been a private investigator.”
* * * *
Jessica Bright rubbed her aching back as she walked in the tree line along Divine Creek, which ran through the property behind the Carlisles’ house. She’d been back at the Rockin’ C Ranch for a few days and had settled into one of the small cabins on the ranch with help from Lydia and LuAnn, who’d taken her shopping the weekend before, for the things she would need for the baby. She hoped for a chance to show them how grateful she was for their help and hospitality.
She’d felt restless all day. Even though the baby probably wouldn’t come for a few more weeks, she’d been having aches and pains that made it hard to sit still, so she’d decided to take a short walk to get some fresh air and to get a little exercise.
The creek looked so shady and cool through the trees. She considered getting closer, but the land sloped a little beyond the tree line and she was ungainly with her big pregnant belly. She didn’t want to take a chance on falling and hurting the baby or herself.
“Maybe just into the tree line a bit, in the shade. I could find a soft place to sit for a while.” She picked her way carefully through an opening, using narrow tree trunks as handholds.
The creek gurgled around the rocks and the shade offered a nice respite from the sunny day. She let out a happy sigh as she lowered herself onto a large flat rock near the edge.
She winced as the baby squirmed, which translated into sharp pains way down low in her abdomen. “You seem like you’re in a hurry,” she told the baby as she stroked her abdomen. The one and only position that she found comfortable anymore was on her hands and knees—not the most dignified. The baby squirmed again, sending a shooting pain straight through a very uncomfortable spot in her nether region.
“Okay, okay, chickpea. You didn’t like the rock, I get it,” she said as she slowly slipped onto her hands and knees and took the chance to stretch her back. Of course, the baby instantly settled down.
“Awesome,” she whispered gratefully.
Relief overwhelmed any concerns about someone seeing her like that, with her big ol’ butt in the air and her belly hanging down. “Moo,” she said to herself. The thought of how she must look right then tickled her funny bone and she started laughing. It’d been so long since she’d laughed and it felt so good that she just let it all out. The baby seemed to be a captive audience to her pregnancy-induced lunacy because he or she was still for the moment. The laughter was positively cathartic and before she knew it, she had tears in her eyes and running down her cheeks.